Hello, my name is TJ Ruggiero. Welcome to my blog page!

I’m a fifty-something database support engineer who’s worked in the IT field for over 23 years. Prior to that, I worked for an aerospace company designing rocket parts, which was my first job out of graduate school. Sherri and I have been married for over 30 years, and we have long shared a common dream about making a life on a large lakefront property. This blog details some of our experiences making that life. Boat-access only properties are not for everyone, but to us getting to live in a vacation-like setting every day is worth it. The summers in particular are glorious.

I hope you enjoy my meanderings. Comments are welcome!

The snail trail

Snails and slugs are ubiquitous on the property, though they are careful to stay out of the light and in damp places in the summer. One of the more notable snail species is the Pacific Sideband Snail. They can have striking banded shells, or somewhat plain ones. When we’re on walks, I’m always on the

Kayaking Tenmile Creek

The Tenmile Lakes watershed covers approximately 98 square miles, and includes four large lakes. There’s also many smaller lakes in the area, mostly caught behind the dunes near the ocean. The majority of the watershed feeds into North and South Tenmile Lakes, and from there drains into the Pacific via Tenmile Creek (which drains almost

Transforming our steep front slope into something beautiful – part 1

Our home, while beautiful and still fairly new, had been somewhat neglected in terms of taming the verdant growth that was trying to reclaim it. The Trailing Pacific Blackberry (see the ‘Shrubs and Plants’ tab here) in particular has spread unchecked around the house, and is proving difficult to get under control. The home sits

The Ospreys are back…which makes me think of the ‘Osprey Incident’

Yesterday while working outside I heard the distinctive call of an Osprey. Looking up, I saw a pair circling overhead. They’ve been gone for the winter (they migrate south, sometimes all the way to South America, sometimes closer like California or Florida) and yesterday is the first I’ve noticed them back. In the past two

A cheap and easy way to keep wildlife out of our boathouse

On North Tenmile Lake, living surrounded by and interacting with wildlife is a given. In our view, they were here before us and so we try to live with them as harmoniously as possible. However, we have our limits when it comes to how animals and plants encroach upon our living space. Our boathouse is

Settling In

Sherri and I fell in love with the Tenmile Lake House property from the first time we saw it. The elegant design of the main house nestled in the beauty and grace of the towering fir trees with North Tenmile Lake lapping at the shores – well, it was made to order for us. The

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